< b>Gelineau syndrome: A neurological disorder marked by a sudden recurrent
uncontrollable compulsion to sleep. Named for a French neurologist, JBE Gelineau
(1859-1906). Also known as narcolepsy.
The disorder is often associated with cataplexy (a sudden loss of muscle tone
and paralysis of voluntary muscles associated with a strong emotion), sleep paralysis
(immobility of the body that occurs in the transition from sleep to wakefulness),
what are called hypnagogic hallucinations (pre-sleep dreams) and automatic behaviors
(such as doing something "automatically" and not remembering afterwards how one
did it).
125,000 Americans are estimated to have narcolepsy. It strikes males and females
and all races. Symptoms most commonly appear in a person's teens and early twenties.
The disease can vary in severity. Some persons with it have mild sleepiness or rare
cataplexy (less than one episode per week). Other persons may have moderate sleepiness
or infrequent cataplexy (less than one episode a day). Still other persons with
narcolepsy may experience severe sleepiness or have severe cataplexy (with one or
more episodes of cataplexy per day).
The cause(s) of narcolepsy are unknown. It is not a fatal disorder in itself
but it can lead to fatalities. For example, a narcoleptic may fall asleep while
driving.
Narcolepsy is usually treated with a medication to improve alertness and an anti-depressant
that helps control cataplexy. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1998
approved Provigil (modafinil), a non-amphetamine drug for treating the excessive
sleepiness of narcolepsy.
Other names for this disorder include excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), hypnolepsy,
sleeping disease, and paroxysmal sleep.
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